Filial cannibalism occurs when an adult individual of a species consumes all or part of the young of its own species or immediate offspring. Filial cannibalism occurs in many species ranging from mammals to insects, and is especially prevalent in various types of fish species with males that engage in egg guardianship.[1] The exact evolutionary purpose of the practice in those species is unclear and debated among zoologists, though there is consensus that it may have, or may have had at some point in species' evolutionary history, certain evolutionary and ecological implications.
- ^ Bose, Aneesh P. H. (October 2022). "Parent–offspring cannibalism throughout the animal kingdom: a review of adaptive hypotheses". Biological Reviews. 97 (5): 1868–1885. doi:10.1111/brv.12868. ISSN 1464-7931. PMID 35748275. S2CID 249989939.